Observations on Gigantiops destructor Fabricius and other leaping ants. . eudomyrma gracilis Fabr., whichresembles a black Attid spider in form and color, and have mistaken itserratic movements for leaps. The well-known arachnologist, E. Simon (inEmery, Voyage de M. E. Simon (Dec., i887-Avril, 1888). Formicides,Ann. Soc. Ent. France 1890, p. 65 nota) noticed that all the species of thegenus Pseudomyrma reproduce exactly the forms and colors of the spiders ofthe genus Simonella Peckh. (Attidae) and the resemblance is equally strikingin their gait. For the present it seems advisable, therefore,
Observations on Gigantiops destructor Fabricius and other leaping ants. . eudomyrma gracilis Fabr., whichresembles a black Attid spider in form and color, and have mistaken itserratic movements for leaps. The well-known arachnologist, E. Simon (inEmery, Voyage de M. E. Simon (Dec., i887-Avril, 1888). Formicides,Ann. Soc. Ent. France 1890, p. 65 nota) noticed that all the species of thegenus Pseudomyrma reproduce exactly the forms and colors of the spiders ofthe genus Simonella Peckh. (Attidae) and the resemblance is equally strikingin their gait. For the present it seems advisable, therefore, either to treatSalticomorpha nigra Motsch, as a nomen midum or to include it with a queryin the synonymy of Gigantiops destructor Fabr. i88 WILLIAM MORTON WHEELER. its models. Furthermore, these Ponerines sting very severely,whereas Gigantiops can be picked up with impunity. In Kartabo,nevertheless, the models are much less frequently seen than themimic. This is interesting in connection with the observations ofMr. Tee Van, who finds that in the same region many of the. FIG. i. Gigantiops destructor Fabr. Worker, about twice natural size;dorsal and lateral views and head from above. mimetic butterflies are much more abundant than their putativeHeliconid models. It would be a mistake to suppose that Gi-gantiops acts as if it derived any benefit from its striking resem-blance to the stinging Ponerines. It greatly surpasses them inagility and when pursued will even leap several inches in a verygraceful, cat-like manner. On the rather infrequent occasionswhen it climbs onto bushes and is running over their foliage it will,if disturbed, leap, without the slightest hesitation, to another leafor even to the ground and make off with great alacrity. When twoGigantiops happen to meet face to face, they exhibit a peculiarplay. After stroking each others heads for a moment with theyellow tips of their antennae, they move from side to side, preciselylike two persons who meet on the sidewalk
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectants, bookyear1922
